I picked up an Angulo 11′9″ a week or so ago and wanted to test it as a big all around stand up paddle surfboard. Jim at Tropical Blends Surf did a super nice job of customizing the deck pads. You can see that there is a tail pad, deck pad and nose pad. This board went through a series of sessions to see what it could do. I would say it passed with flying colors.

(click thumbnail to launch video)

Rider: 34 yrs old; 6′ tall; 215 lbs

Rider Skill Level: Novice

Conditions: So far we’ve only tested the Angulo 11′9″ stand up paddle surfboard in great conditions; Light winds and fairly glassy. My brother and I rode it at Canoe’s and Queen’s Surf in Waikiki in chest to head high waves. I also had a couple friends ride it with me in the flat water area of Ala Moana Beach Park and caught a few chest high waves at Courts.

Description: This board is an Angulo stand up paddle board at 11′9″ x 31″ x 4 1/4″. It has one single fin box and a stock 10″ fin from Tropical Blends Surf Hawaii who manufactures the board.

The board has wide hips and a slightly pulled in nose. The tail has the hyrdoplane cut out that helps it surf better. I believe there is a single concave on the bottom starting toward the front and blending into a double concave toward the back. The rails are a little soft in the middle and front and the tail bottom rail is fairly sharp.

The Angulo stand up board is made out of EPS foam and a molded PVC material. The PVC is heated and wrapped around the foam and is the strongest material I’ve seen so far. Jim from Tropical Blends demonstrates the strength by hitting it hard with a piece of wood and then lays it on the floor fin side up and starts jumping on the middle like it’s a trampoline. I dropped one of the Angulo 10′4″ boards off my head before and the only damage was a small crack in the tail which I got professionally fixed.

This board is light for its size. It’s definitely lighter than the 12′ Surftech Laird and around the same weight as the Jimmy 11′.

There are handle mounts pre installed in the Angulo stand up board in the middle standing area and the nose area. These come in very handy when carrying the board or having another person (i.e. my son) on the front of the board. They also allow for fishing gear and boxes to be rigged and whatever you can think of.

Pros: The Angulo stand up paddle boards are super strong and durable. They come geared up with handle mounts. They are light weight for their size. The Angulo also surfs really well for being an 11′9″ long stand up paddle surfboard. I saw Alika at Queen’s Beach rip up the wave from the outside break and ride it all the way to shore and step off on the sand. Alika is 250+ lbs. It can hold guys 300 lbs and 30 lbs children. You can use it as a tandem board if you want. The board is super stable and fun to ride.

Cons: I can’t think of anything right now on this. It wouldn’t be my first choice to surf waves since my balance is much better now but it’s on of the best boards to start on.

Verdict: This is the best all around stand up paddle surfboard I have ridden to date. It excels at being a little of everything and is a great family stand up paddle board. Until I get a dedicated racing downwind stand up paddle board, the Angulo 11′9″ will be my board of choice for downwinders. It’s super stable, has great glide and can surf. It’s also the one board I’ll take with me on family outings because the chance of it getting dinged is low and everyone can ride it.

DW – We are limited at youtube bc the videos are allowed a max of 100 mb so we are limited to something like 8 or 9 minutes or so at a decent resolution. To remedy that we ended up cutting up the video into topics so they would fit and it would be easier for people to sort through what they want to see instead of one long video. It also makes it easier for us to create posts more often.

Jim has an eye opening demonstration of the durability of the Angulo’s in the next video (continued from the end of this one). He takes a wood 2″x2″ stick and hits the rails with it and then places the board on the ground with the fins facing up and jumps on the middle like a trampoline.

We actually have a number of videos coming showing the Kyle Bernhardt 10′6″, Angulo 10′8″ and Blane Chambers 10′ all in the PVC material the Angulo’s are made in. I was also able to shoot a short video of my 300 lbs friend for the first time stand up paddling on my Angulo 11′9″ and the chair rig to the front with my son in it. Those are coming in the near future.

Nice review Evan, thorough, informative and to the point. I have the 10′4″ Angulo which surfs quite well (I’m a long time surfer but SUP beginner) but is a workout for distance paddling and in bumpy sea conditions.

My friend Michael has the 11′9″ Angulo and we surf and SUP together fairly often. We love to trade boards out in the water because he likes the better “surfability” of the 10′4″, and I like the stability and all around fun of the 11′9″.

I’m about 154 pounds most of the time (Michael goes around 190 or so) and I jokingly call the 11′9″ the USS Forrestal. It’s stable, roomy, paddles really well in all conditions encountered so far and to top it off I think it surfs really well too. It’s not as loose or maneuverable as the 10′4″ but plenty fun for catching waves. And, there are very few waves you CAN’T catch on the 11′9″. It will chase anything down.

One of the reasons I bought the Angulo composite (PVC and epoxy) was for durability and strength. I’ve been riding mine for about six weeks and ride a lot in low tide, exposed rock/reef conditions. So far I just have one little scratch in the paint which I can repair with TufLite touch up paint.

I also have some light scratches on the deck graphic and I’m not sure how to take those out. I thought I might be able to rub them out with some mild abrasive car wax but John Mel at Freeline here in Santa Cruz says there is some sort of finish spray on the graphic and it just gets soft when trying to rub it out. So far still looking for a solution for that. If you hear anything let me know.

Thanks for the good review, especially comparing it to some of the other boards available.

How many boards do you have now? Have you tried the Bernhardt? I’m totally in love with that board. It’s a little too small for my needs but it’s the first SUP I ever paddled.

I was considering Bill Foote’s 11′. Similar construction and it appears from pictures to be a little bigger version of the Bernhardt. Foote told me it was designed for someone 180lbs though so I backed off. He mentioned that he might be on Oahu soon and may be able to arrange a demo.

Tony – I currently have 4 stand up boards. They are C4 10′6″, Angulo 11′9″, Surftech Laird 12′1″ and Blane Chambers Paddle Surf Hawaii 10′6″. I’m debating whether to sell my Laird which I bought from Pono Bill in June. I used to have a Jimmy Lewis 11′ and SOS Big Red 11′11″ which I sold. The rest of them I borrow or demo.

I’ve tried the Bernhardt for under 5 hours total. I think I’m too heavy for it and the shape seems more geared toward lots of nose riding. The handle on it is super cool and useful.

I haven’t seen or ridden the Bill Foote yet. Who sells that model? I’m game for demoing it although it’s hard for me to form a good opinion under 10 hours of riding. I may be slow but I noticed that 10 hours for me is a good number to form a solid opinion…which of course is just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt.

Evan – Jim is actually asking Bernhardt to shape me a custom but I really want a pop-out for durability. I like to ride different boards for different waves and conditions and I love the shape of the Bernhardt pop-out.

Lightning Bolt Maui sells the Bill Foote 11″ It like a bigger version of the Bernhardt. I almost bought it sight unseen but Foote himself talked me out of it. The dims are 11″x4.5″x28″. Ive ridden smaller boards so I think I can handle it but if I get a chance to demo we’ll see.

Evan, I’m not sure either. I don’t think the problem is float. I did a rough calculation of board volume and it’s nearly identical to the board I’m riding now so should be plenty float. Bill Foote thinks it would be too unstable at 28 inches. Granted it’s no Nui but I’ve ridden 2 PSH 10′6″x28″s for over a month and in heavy chop I’m swimming but everything else is reasonable.

good morning all anguloians or not if you get a chance check out my buddies blog. srfnff.blogspot.com both gary and i got some good photos of some good wavesand some good rides santa cruz cali. happy suping

My wife and I recently started SUP..in the California Delta. Im looking for something to float me high n dry. Im 270, I bought the Laird 12′1″ cuz the guy at surftech said it would float me fine. Im bummed, big money and feet are wet..I did a google “sup 300lbs” and found yer site.

One option for custom is Joe Blair who makes a lot of boards for big guys. I know Michael F on the Standupzone.com forum rides a Blair custom and he’s around your size. Blair and Michael are both in San Diego. Check out http://www.jblairsurf.com. Tell Joe the code word is ‘Tarter Sauce’ and he’ll give you a discount.